KickStarter Campaign: Celebrate The Queen's… by Royalty_Now

To Donate, click here to visit the Celebrate the Jubilee campaign page.

Pledge $1 or more
Your name mentioned with thanks in the credits in an upcoming episode of RoyaltyNow!.

Pledge $5 or more
You pick the book I review for an upcoming episode of RoyaltyNow! along with your name mentioned during the episode.

Pledge $10 or more
A signed “Keep Calm and Carry On” thank you card from Mandy.

Pledge $25 or more
Limited Reward (of 36)
Kikkerland Solar Queen (regular edition)

Pledge $75 or more
Limited Reward (of 24)
Kikkerland Solar Queen (Jubilee edition) w/ Solar Corgi and your name mentioned with thanks during an upcoming episode of RoyaltyNow!

Pledge $100 or more
You choose which royal building (in London) that I will discuss in the show, with your name mentioned during the episode.

Pledge $150 or more
You choose which royal building (in London) that I will discuss in the show, as well as a signed photo of that building.

Read more here…

Edited to add: The baby girl is 6.4 pounds and 19 inches long. From the official DRF website.

Resplendent jewels and gowns glimmered brightly during the gala performance at the Concert Hall in honor of Margrethe last Saturday (1-14) evening. Alexandra arrived in brilliant red, topped off by her Alexandrine Diamond Drop Tiara (Queen Margrethe gave the tiara to her then-daughter-in-law as a wedding present. Alexandra kept the tiara after her divorce from Prince Joachim).

Members of the family in attendance for the concert included:

• Crown Prince Frederik and Crown Princess Mary

• Prince Joachim and his sons Nikolai and Felix (Marie remained at home with little Henrik)

• The Queen’s sisters, Princess Benedikte (w/ husband Prince Richard of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg) and Queen Anne-Marie (w/ husband the former King Constantine)

• The Queen’s  nieces and nephews from the Berleberg family and Greek royal family

• The Rosenborgs, cousins of the Queen

Other dignitaries included Danish government officials and the heads of state for the Scandinavian countries: the President of Finland, King Harald and Queen Sonja of Norway, King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia of Sweden, and Crown Prince Haakon and Crown Princess Mette-Marit of Norway (see the full list).

Westmacott was born in the village of Edington, Somerset in the South West of England in December 1950. He was educated at New College Oxford. He joined the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in 1972, and has extensive experience abroad with postings in Tehran, Brussels, Ankara, and Paris.

The new ambassador also has royal connections: in 1990, he was made Deputy Private Secretary to the Prince of Wales. Three years later, Westmacott was sent to Washington as a Counsellor. Later postings included Director for the Americas in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, and Deputy Under Secretary of State.

In 2002, Westmacott was appointed Ambassador to Turkey, where he served until 2006. The following year he was appointed as the Ambassador to France where he served until this month.

Sally Bedell Smith writes for TIME magazine:

Few remember now, but the regally wrinkled Queen Elizabeth II was once called the World’s Sweetheart. Trained for her role from birth by her parents and various tutors, she walked onto the world stage at age 25 fully equipped to do honor to her post. Kate Middleton, now the Duchess of Cambridge, entered the spotlight without a lifetime of preparation, but she seems open to learning how to play her part.

During Elizabeth’s 60 years on the throne–the longest reign in the 1,000-year history of the British monarchy, save for Queen Victoria’s–she has evolved from ingenue to wise grandmother …

From this week’s issue of TIME, on newsstands January 6th. [Read more]

The Queen is known for her beehive-inspired bouffants (as seen on the royal website). Princess Mary was photographed sporting her own brand of beehive for the annual New Year’s banquet, as reported by the blog The Royal Order of Sartorial Splendor.

Mary’s hairdo was surmounted by a diamond and ruby tiara in the form of leaves and berries. It was a tiara once worn by Queen Ingrid of Denmark, Margrethe’s mother.

Introducing…

Princess Marie Mash-up

Charlotte Chic

Maxima in Wassenaar

Royal Raingear

Jewelry

Letizia’s Bulgari Ring

Maxima’s Engagement Ring

The Queen’s Button Earrings

Queen Alexandra’s Pearl and Diamond Earrings

Image by Getty Images via @daylife

This has been a banner year for Her Majesty. After two royal weddings and several successful tours, she now looks forward to her Diamond Jubilee in 2012.

Throughout the year, many events kept Her Majesty busy. We take a look back at 2011 in review:

January

• 10^th: Singer Charlotte Church apologizes for referring to the Queen as ‘an old woman [who] has no idea what’s going on’. The Queen, who at almost 85 is one of the most experienced leaders in the world, wasn’t bothered in the slightest. People begin asking, “Charlotte who? Casiraghi?”

February

• 24th: Official visit to Wales by Prince William to introduce his fiancée and future Queen consort, Catherine Middleton.

March

• 17^th -18th: Prince William undertakes an official visit to New Zealand, representing The Queen.
• 19^th -21^st: Prince William continues on an official visit to Australia.

April

• 21^st: The Queen turns 85.
• 23^rd: The christening of Savannah Phillips, Elizabeth’s first great-grandchild.

• 29th: Her grandson and eventual heir, Prince William, marries Catherine. They become the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.

May

• 3^rd – 5th: The Prince of Wales represents Her Majesty on a visit to the United States.
• 17th – 20th: State Visit to Ireland by The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh.
• 24th – 26th: State Visit from the President of the United States and Mrs. Obama. The President and First Lady also meet with the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.
  

June

• 2^nd: The 58^th anniversary of Her Majesty’s coronation.
• 10^th: Prince Philip celebrates his 90^th birthday.
• 11^th: Her Majesty’s official birthday and Trooping the Color.
• 30^th: The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge begin their extensive tour of Canada, representing the Queen.

July

• 1st – 8th: The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge continue their Canadian tour, with a brief stop in Los Angeles, California in the USA.
• 11th: The year was darkened by the loss of a lovely man. The Queen’s first cousin, Lord Harewood, dies at age 88.
• 30th: The Queen’s eldest granddaughter, Zara Phillips, marries rugby captain Mike Tindall in Scotland.
  

August

• 15^th: Iranian media was caught publishing fake stories about an anti-monarchy uprising in the UK. The Guardian reports that the press for the Islamic regime used photos of the miners’ strike of 1984, a bloodied man who was involved in a football skirmish in 2010, among others, to pretend that there were anti-monarchy riots across Britain.
  

September

• 12^th: The BBC presents The Queen’s Palaces, a three-part landmark television series hosted by Fiona Bruce.

October

• 19th – 29th: The Queen and Duke of Edinburgh tour Australia. A protocol controversy brews upon being met at the airport by Prime Minister Julia Gellard, who bowed instead of curtseying. The rest of the tour is a smashing success.

November

• 2nd: Working visit to Copenhagen by the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. They meet with Crown Prince Frederik and his wife, Crown Princess Mary.
• 20th: The Queen and Prince Philip celebrate their 64th wedding anniversary.

• 22nd – 24th: The President of the Republic of Turkey and Mrs. Gül paid a State Visit to the UK as the guests of Queen Elizabeth II.

December

• The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh host one of the largest royal gatherings at Sandringham in years. A brief scare ensues when Prince Philip suffers chest pains and is taken to a nearby hospital. The Duke turns out to be fine, but requires a stent to open a blocked coronary artery.